TexMessage: Energy debate is full of sound and fury, signifying political posturing

Top of the mornin’, TexMessagers! According to Treasury Department estimates, the country will reach its debt ceiling today. We’ll soon see if the predictions of fiscal Armageddon come to pass.

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TEXclusive

Listening to the heated debate over energy policy recent days, we might have to call on the ill-fated Macbeth (Act V, Scene 5) for a concise bit of political commentary: “Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

Unlike the Bard, we’re not calling anybody an “idiot” or making a deep commentary on life or fate.

But you have to realize that a lot of what you’ve been hearing is political theater — more melodrama than farce, more campaign monologue than policy proposal.

First, we had the House of Representatives pass a series of proposals last week that would force President Obama to drill, baby, drill. It’ll never become law. It’s almost certain to die on the Senate . . . or through a presidential veto.

Second, we had President Obama sending dual messages in his weekly radio/Internet address on Saturday. He made a few concessions to the drill-now crowd, promising a blanket extension of offshore drilling permits in the Gulf of Mexico and additional lease sales in Alaska. But he also called for an end to energy industry tax preferences and prosecution of gas price gougers. Is this a centrist course? Or is he, in trying to please everybody, risking pleasing nobody.

Third, we have a speech coming up today by Bill Reilly, President Bush 41′s EPA chief and co-chair of the BP oil spill commission. Reilly, you may recall, wants action to head off another massive oil spill. Congress has done nothing about the safety issue’s raised by Reilly’s commission. Despite his speech today, nothing’s likely to change.

Texas Tips

Every morning, we offer Texas news you may not have heard and insights from the Washington bureau staff.

★ REP. TED POE GETS NO RESPECT … IN ONE NEWS STORY. In a story about some members of Congress and their efforts to cut aid to Pakistan because of recent events, it referred to a “little-known Republican Congressman Ted Poe (Texas).” Read the full story here.

★ POE GETS RESPECT … HERE. Judicial Watch, the conservative legal affairs organization said it would investigate the Falcon Lake slaying of Texan David Hartley. The announcement followed a press conference led by Poe, the aforementioned “little-known Republican,” on Thursday. Read more here

★ CORNYN AGONISTES. The junior senator’s 2011 SMU commencement speech fell upon quite a few unimpressed ears in Big D. The Daily Campus, Southern Methodist University’s student paper, reported a story about students’ tweets during the ceremony. Check out some of the tweets students sent during it — some unimpressed with the senator’s speech.

Reader Comment of the Day

In response to our story about Tiffany Hartley and Rep. Ted Poe calling for justice in the apparent murder of Tiffany Hartley’s husband, David Hartley, at Falcon Lake, Rockette said:

I hope they find out something about her husband so she can have closure. My initial thoughts were, ‘Why were they in Mexico waters knowing it is dangerous?’ Sometimes we put ourselves in harm’s way, when things turn sour we want someone to come in and rescue us instead of following warnings. Again I hope they find out something about her husband.

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Texas Watch

TxPotomac lets you know what stories to look out for today — and later this week.

On Deck: Today

Rep. Ron Paul (Photo illustration with images from Getty and AP)

★ A rally is held on Capitol Hill in support of small farmers and a bill introduced by Rep. Ron Paul, R-Lake Jackson. His bill would allow the shipment and distribution of unpasteurized milk and milk products for human consumption across state lines. The rally is at 10 a.m. EDT at the Upper Senate Park on Capitol Hill.

★ William K. Reilly, Co-Chair of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, will deliver an address entitled, “One Year After the Deepwater Horizon Disaster: The Path to Safe Offshore Drilling.” Reilly will speak at 2 p.m. EDT at Resources for the Future, 1616 P Street NW, Washington.

Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Midland

★ Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Midland, will be at the Coleman Public Library, located at 402 Commercial Ave. in downtown Coleman, for a town hall meeting. The legislative update will begin at 3 p.m. CDT and last about 45 minutes.

On Deck: Later This Week

★ Tuesday: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will examine strategic implications of Pakistan and the region at 9:30 a.m.

★ Tuesday: The Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security will examine how to improve security and how to facilitate commerce at America’s northern border and ports of entry. The hearing is at 10 a.m.

★ Wednesday: The Senate Judiciary Committee will examine how to improve efficiency and how to ensure justice in the immigration court system. The hearing is at 10 a.m.

★ Thursday: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will evaluate goals and progress in Afghanistan and Pakistan at 10 a.m.